


counting stars - klance

by volleycatnika



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Keith (Voltron) Backstory, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Korean Keith (Voltron), M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-07-27 10:09:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 15,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7613971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volleycatnika/pseuds/volleycatnika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith wishes for a lot of things and Lance IS NOT one of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Dirty Laundry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7454385) by Anonymous. 



1

Keith’s mother isn’t religious or superstitious, yet there is one thing she swears by. There is something she assures him that ALWAYS works. 

Counting stars. 

“You don’t count all of them,” his mother informs him, from her position on the roof just to the right of him. As she speaks, she gazes at the stars with a bright eyes. It is as though her very eyes are stars. Stars that are trying to connect with other stars. “You only count up to your favorite number.” Her eyes seem to become even brighter as she adds, “I count up to 21, since you were born on March 21st.”

Being a ten year old boy who adores his mother, his response is quick and predictable “I’ll count to 10 since you were born on February 10th .” He practically yells due to his excitement.

His mother’s response is musical laughter. “I’m glad you’re excited. Now, count up to your number and when you’re done, make a wish.” 

If he had known what was to happen… He wouldn’t have wished for a big bag of sweets. He would’ve wished for his mother to be happy and healthy. He would’ve have wished that his father wasn’t the victim of a hit on run, when on his way to visit his mother in the hospital. 

He would’ve wished that they didn’t die such horrible deaths. 

He didn’t know.

He didn’t know that they would die.

He didn’t know that he would become an orphan. 

He didn’t know that he would get adopted by an American couple… An American couple that would replace his Korean name with an American one.

He didn’t know.

So he wished for a big bag of sweets. He wished for candy, cookies, and cake… All the while he taking his mother’s calming presence for granted. 

He took his father’s kindness for granted. His father bought him a bag of sweets the next day.

He took his parents for granted. 

He took the stars for granted.

Ever since his mother told him about counting stars, he used it whenever he wanted something. He used it for himself and himself only.

He was selfish. 

The stars, even though he tried everyday, for two years, refused to bring his parents back.

 

As it turns out, the stars don’t help selfish people.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can read updates SOONER on the website I spend most of my time on  
> https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/79526639-counting-stars-klance-

2

Over the years, Keith’s adoptive parents and him move around. A lot. They move so often, and to so many different states, that Keith can’t help but feel that it is their goal to have lived in all 50 states. 

Most of his childhood has involved him leaving his belongings and clothes in boxes. With him trying to memorize every nook and cranny of his room, his house, and his town. Even though it was only a matter of time before he moved again, he didn’t want to forget a thing.

But he did. 

He forgot what color his bedroom walls were.

He forgot how big or small his house was. 

He forgot whether or not his town had two churches or no churches.

In turn, people forgot him. His teachers, his classmates, and his friends forgot him after he moved. After he transferred schools. He received no letters or calls. 

It was only a matter of time that it got to him- All the times he was forgotten.   
It was only a matter of time before he stopped trying to make friends.

It was only a matter of time before a lonely boy such as him got bullied. 

When he was little, it was mostly name calling. Childish name calling, with an occasional shove… 

Things escalated when he entered Junior High. Having to wear glasses due to his poor eyesight, and wearing many vests made with love by his adoptive mother, he gained all sorts of unwanted attention. 

His peers wanted the “smart Asian” to do their homework. They wanted him to their homework for free. He would do it or they would beat him until he was black and blue. With no friends to help him, and not allowing himself to grow close to teachers, he was on his own. He was suffering on his own.

Now. 

Now he wears contacts. Now he NEVER wears vests. Instead he wears dark colors, and occasionally wears red.

Now.

Now he looks tough and acts tough. 

If only he was as tough as he looks and acts.


	3. 3

3 

“Remind me why we had to move here of all places,” Keith mutters, as he carries what feels to be the 100th box into their new home. The house itself is nice, with spacious rooms, and large, spotless windows. However, there isn’t much to look at. Outside the windows of his new home, all he sees for miles is sand, dusty sidewalks, dusty cars, and dusty buildings. Even though they have moved to a fairly large town, with all the sand and dust, Keith can’t help but feel that he is in the middle of nowhere… That he is in some post-apocalyptic world in which he is doomed to die at a young age.

“Because”, his adoptive mother replies, her golden ponytail swishing with her every step, “it was part of the conditions of your father’s promotion that he work here in Scottsdale.” Setting her box on top of the mountain they have already created, she soon adds, “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think we’ll be moving again.” 

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Keith replies, with a heavy sigh. “Is it your goal to have all of us die in this desert?”

“Oh it’s not THAT bad,” Keith’s adoptive father chirps, all the while pushing a particularly heavy box across the floor. “Emily, will you help me with this?” Running a weary hand through his brown hair, Keith’s adoptive father patiently waits for his wife’s help. Sending a gaze that says keep the sass to a minimum, Emily walks away from Keith in order to help her husband.”Why don’t you go for a walk while your mother and I deal with this last box? I’m sure you will be able to see something you like if you walk far enough. Promise me you’ll try to like this town.”

“Fine,” Keith replies, “but I make no promises.”

Taking his red jacket off because Arizona does not need any help n him feel as though he is in an oven, Keith walks out the front door. Taking two steps at a time, Keith pretends that he is leaving the state. That he is leaving and headed to a place that is destined to be his forever home.

His pretending results in him walking far. So far that none of the buildings around him even look vaguely familiar. With a heavy sigh, he stops. He stops and tries to decide what he wants to do. Does he really want to go back? To just turn around, and likely, after some wandering, find his way home? Or does he want to keep on walking and actually walk out of the state?

His mind and heart hold different answers. 

“V-VAMPIRE!” A voice shrieks, making Keith jump. Turning to see who spoke, Keith is surprised to find a young boy standing a few feet away from him, holding a teddy bear. He is not just holding the teddy bear… But using it as a shield. “LANCE, HELP THERE IS VAMPIRE OUTSIDE OF OUR HOUSE!” When no one immediately exits the house, the boy screams “¡Socorro!”

After the utterance of a Spanish word, the mysterious Lance finally exits the house. Accompanied by the slam of a screen door, is the appearance of a lanky teen. Spending a few seconds letting his gaze shift from the boy to Keith, Lance laughs. “Mason, vampires aren’t real! Now apologize.” 

Narrowing his eyes at Lance, Mason says, “if he isn’t a vampire then why is he so pale? He must be a vampire! Don’t let him kill me!” With that said, Mason hides behind Lance’s jean clad legs.

Lance, who seems unsure of how to answer Mason’s question, stammers, “B-Because he wears t-too much sunscreen.”

To both Lance’s and Keith’s surprise, Lance’s answer pacifies Mason. “Our Mama says a little goes a long ways. Didn’t your Mama ever tell you that?”

“Mason!” Lance hisses, “don’t be rude.”

Noticing Lance’s embarrassment, Keith says, “It’s fine. Anyways, I’ve got to go…” He lets his voice trail off as he scans his surroundings. Just which road will bring him home? 

Just as he slowly starts to walk away (and probably in the wrong direction) Lance says, “You’re from out of town, aren’t you? Are you lost?” Lance’s words make Mason laugh, and say something to the effect of “isn’t he too old to be able to get lost?”

“How did you know?”

“No sane person from this town would go walking around wearing all black.” 

 

//According to a Spanish-English dictionary ¡Socorro! Means help.


	4. 4

4  
/An error in my Spanish was noted. I will try to fix it sometime soon. If you see any more errors, please let me know. After all I’m using an online Spanish-English dictionary./ 

Even though Keith is tempted to respond to Lance’s comment on his clothing by reminding Lance of the fact he is wearing jeans, he decides against it. So far, Lance seems pretty nice. He’d rather not anger one of the first few people he has met. Especially someone his age who is capable of beating him to a pulp. Well, maybe not a pulp. Lance seems to have some muscle hidden under his loose clothing, but not a lot. He probably has enough muscle to give him a few bruises though. 

He hopes that he won’t get any bruises in Arizona. He hope that the heat makes his fellow teens too weak to fight. To weak to bully him. 

Oh how he hopes. 

“Do you know what your address is? If so I could draw you a map,” Lance says, all the while ruffling Mason’s short brown hair. The young boy, after hearing an explanation of why Keith is so pale, and IS NOT a vampire, has come out from behind Lance’s legs. However he stays close to Lance, and gazes at Keith with wide, curious eyes. “Or you could put the address into your phone. That is, if you have a phone.”

“I haven’t quite memorized my address yet,” Keith responds, with an embarrassed chuckle, “And my phone is dead since I listened to music during the drive.”

“Well,” Lance says slowly, seeming to think as he speaks, “Why don’t you describe your house? I might be able to tell your where it is, or, at least, which direction you should walk in.”

Once he hears a brief description of his house, he flashes Keith a reassuring smile. “I don’t remember the exact address, but I know the general area. I’ll walk you there.” Looking down to address his brother, he adds, “Tell Mom I went for a walk, won’t you Mason?” Keith ruffles his brother’s brown hair before walking away from his home and towards Keith’s home. 

Not being a big fan of silence, as they walk, Lance starts a conversation with Keith. “So, where are you from?”

Upon hearing the question, Keith can’t help but emit a sigh. Keith was born in South Korea, but has lived in the United States for most of his life. In fact, all that really connects himself to South Korea is his body and hazy memories. The United States, since his adoptive parents feel the need to move a lot, isn’t much better. Most of his elementary years are just a fog to him... A fog that he can’t, and never will be able to grasp. “Do you want the short answer or the long answer?”

“Short answer, I guess,” Lance responds, clearly not expecting there to be two answers. 

“I was born in South Korea, and raised in various states in America.” Keith tries his best to keep his answer only a sentence long. 

There is a brief moment of silence before Lance responds. “Okay now I’m curious… Now I want the long answer. Or, at the very least, I want you to answer a question. How many states have you lived in?”

“I’ve lived in thirty states,” Keith responds, all the while studying Lance.. The tan teen walks with an air of confidence… It’s as if he has lived in Arizona his whole life. As though he has lived in this town his whole life. As if he knows the streets of the town as well as he knows the back of his own hand. 

“THIRTY?” Lance screeches, coming to an abrupt stop, which results in Keith walking into him and nearly knocking him over. “REALLY? Which thirty?” Now it its Keith’s turn to be surprised. He has never had someone ask… He has never had someone his own age ask so many questions about him… So many questions without having a malicious reason for asking them. 

“I’ve lived in Maine, Vermont, New York, Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Tennessee, Utah, Montana, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Rhode Island, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Kansas, South Dakota, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Washington, Iowa, Kentucky, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Alaska, Ohio, South Carolina and not necessarily in that order. Now I’m in Arizona, which makes thirty one.” 

“Wow you’ve been pretty much everywhere,” Lance exclaims. With a brief pause, he adds, “Which state is your favorite?”

“I don’t have a favorite, they’re all the same to me,” Keith mutters, growing tired of talking about his past, growing tired of recalling the past. He got punched in Maine. He got kicked in Vermont. He got pushed in New York. He got yelled at in Virginia… The list of horrible memories of bullying goes on forever. Well, almost forever.

“Well,” Lance responds, drawing the Ls out for a few seconds longer than normal, “do you have a least favorite?”

“Alaska because you pretty much turn into a human popsicle in the winter,” Keith responds. His answer earns himself a loud laugh from Lance. 

“I hope that you didn’t move here from Alaska. If you did, you’re going from one extreme to another,” Lance says, soon adding, “We’re here.”

Sure enough, they are in front of Keith’s new home. For some reason, Keith finds himself wishing that they were still looking… That they were still walking. Shrugging the strange feeling off, he thanks Lance before walking inside. The strange feeling he had is probably not important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to read updates sooner? Read "Counting Stars" on my wattpad:   
> https://www.wattpad.com/289233471-counting-stars-klance-1


	5. 5

5

The next day, Keith practically volunteered to go to school. Even though his mother tried to insist he stay home and relax after the move, he refused to. His mother caught Lance walking him home. Her first words to him when he walked through the door were, “Look you made a friend already! You’ll LOVE Arizona soon.” Yeah, Keith had thought, I’ll love Arizona as soon as I love getting a sunburn, which is never.

Now he is in hell. A kind of hell that doesn’t involve flames or horned creatures. The hell he is in involves a sea of teens that enter the high school with tired and unhappy looks. He can’t blame everyone for looking grumpy. It sucks to have to wake up early. It especially sucks to live in Arizona. He was outside for only twenty minutes yesterday and got a sunburn. Thanks to the sunburn, he looks as though he is constantly blushing. 

With a small sigh, Keith looks at his schedule. He soon emits another sigh as he notices that he has math first thing in the morning. Flipping the paper over to look at the map of the school on the back, Keith mutters a few choice words. Whoever printed his schedule was in a hurry, and pulled the paper out too soon, resulting in the mess that is supposed to be a map. Squinting at the paper, he slowly walks in what he hopes to be the right direction. 

“Are you lost AGAIN?” a familiar voice asks, making Keith lookup. To his surprise, Lance is standing before him, wearing an outfit similar to the one he wore yesterday.

“Yes but this time it isn’t my fault,” Keith responds, all the while handing his paper to Lance, “some idiot pulled the paper out too soon.” 

“That idiot would be Lance,” a new voice (and person) chirps, all the while walking to stand to the left of Lance. With blonde hair, black glasses, and wrinkle free clothes, the new person seems to be the total opposite of Lance. “He’s an office aid. I am too. Unlike Lance, I’m patient and do my job correctly.” Before they can say more, loud shouts can be heard. Further down the hallway a (somewhat) muscular guy and a girl with pigtails are pushing and shoving a kid. A kid that, like the new person before him, looks a bit nerdy. “And those idiots,” they add, with a heavy sigh, “are the reason why I hate high school.” 

“Me too,” Lance says, “especially since she is so evil but SO pretty.” His words earn Lance an eyeroll from his friend. 

“He’s in love with her but he can’t pronounce her name correctly,” they say, with a chuckle. “Anyways, let’s go back to helping you find your first class.” As his friend speaks, Lance reads Keith’s schedule. To Keith’s surprise, after reading it, Lance smirks. 

“It sucks to have math first thing in the morning but at least you have it with Mr. Hottie,” Lance says, before turning to his friend. “C’mon Pidge let’s help this POOR lost soul.”   
“The POOR lost soul looks like he wants to punch you for calling him a ‘POOR lost soul’ and I can’t blame him.” 

“PIDGE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to read updates faster? Check out my wattpad:   
> https://www.wattpad.com/289233471-counting-stars-klance-1


	6. 6

6 

Mr. Hottie manages to live up to his nickname. With unique, black and white hair, and a body that is all muscle, it comes to no surprise that half the class is checking him out. Another surprise (and a not so pleasant one at that) iis how the class reacts to Keith. 

Over the hour and a half the class lasts, Keith loses track of how many times he gets asked if he is Mr. Takashi’s brother or cousin. He also loses track of how many times people ask him to tell them Japanese pick up lines, even though he repeatedly tells them that he is Korean. 

With a heavy sigh, he eagerly watches the clock. Just a few minutes… In just a few minutes he will be free from this hell that is only tolerable because “Mr. Hottie” is present.

Once the sweet sound of the bell echoes throughout the classroom, Keith practically leaps out of his seat and runs out the door. Although his speedy exit earns him a few strange looks, he doesn’t really care. Half of that class was annoying and the other half looked like they were still asleep. 

To his relief, despite the fact that the hallway is crowded, he manages to run into Pidge and Lance. Pidge is the first to see Keith’s tired expression and emit a laugh. “I bet you hate everyone already.”

“We wouldn’t blame you if you did,” Lance adds, laughing as well. “But wasn’t I right? Mr. Takashi is a hottie, isn’t he?”

Now it is Keith’s turn to laugh. “Yeah, you’re right. Although I don’t think many people use the term “hottie” anymore. 

“Says the guy with a mullet,” is Lance’s automatic reply. Upon noticing the smirk on Lance’s face, Keith decides to be himself and not hold back. 

“Fuck you,” he mutters just loud enough for Lance to hear. 

“Yes please,” Lance whispers in response. The two of them must not be as quiet as they thought because Pidge chuckles before elbowing Lance in the side.

Pidge, despite being small turns out to be strong as Lance wheezes something to the likes off “I think you gave me a bruise again.” Despite the wheeze, Lance manages to laugh. 

“I’m sorry, he’s always like this,” Pidge says. Slowing their pace so they can look at the schedule Keith is holding in his right hand, Pidge practically shouts, “Yay we have science together! Do you like science? I LOVE science. We owe so much to science… If you don’t love science you should love it. Hell, EVERYONE should love science.”  
“I’m sorry, Pidge is always like this,” Lance says, with a chuckle. “Luck for you, however, we all have science together. If Pidge beings to bore you to death with the science talk, you can come sit with me. That is, unless she sits next to me.” 

Upon hearing Lance’s last remark, Pidge rolls their eyes. “I don’t get why you like her. Didn’t you see her this morning? She was being a bully! And don’t give me the bullshit about her being ‘misunderstood’. Seriously Lance, what would you do if she bullied me? Or Keith?”

After a few seconds of silence Lance emits a groan of defeat. “Pidgeeeeee you make a good point. I don’t know why I like her so much… Help me, Pidgeeeee.” As they near the classroom Lance whines more and more until Pidge elbows him in the side again. Luckily, like before, they are able to laugh it off. 

Oh how Keith wishes he could laugh off what happens next…

The teacher, an energetic man with orange hair, decides to make a new seating chart “in honor” of Keith’s arrival. The change of seats due to his presence certainly doesn’t earn him any friends, but is manageable. That is, until Keith finds out who he is sitting next to. He is sitting next to the infamous her… The pigtailed girl from earlier, who looks harmless but could probably kill him. 

“Thanks to your ass,” she snarls under her breath as she slides into her seat, “I can’t sit next to Rolo.” Pretending to point out something on his schedule, she leans close and whispers, “Today ISN’T your lucky day, Mullet.” 

In that moment, Keith can’t help but think if the natural heat of Arizona doesn’t set me on fire she probably will.


	7. 7

7

 

Thanks to his fellow students and the teacher, the irritable girl doesn’t do anything to him. Well, not anything serious. She steals his pencils when he isn’t looking, and draws weird lumps that Keith assumes are supposed to be dicks on his binder. In other words, she is just a minor annoyance (and inconvenience - by the end of the class, he only has two pencils left). 

 

Even though he knows he should keep his mouth shut, he doesn’t. Instead he whispers, “I hope you’re done throwing your tantrum.” Almost immediately she scowls at him, and opens her mouth to respond. However, Keith never hears what she says because the bell drowns out her voice.

 

As Keith leaves, with Pidge and Lance in tow, he catches a glimpse… He catches a glimpse of blonde pigtails and a muscular guy. Upon imagining just who he caught a glimpse of, Keith’s stomach grows queasy. The pigtailed girl is easy enough to deal with one her own, but when she is with her friend she grows braver. He hates to think of what the two of them are capable of.

 

“So what do you have next, Samurai?” Lance asks, with a laugh. His laugh is cut short when Pidge glares at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“You just sounded really racist,” Pidge says, all the while adjusting their glasses. “You can’t just assume what Keith is based on his looks! He could be Korean, he could be Japanese, he could be anything. Well not anything but you get me point.” 

 

“Sorry, sorry,” Lance responds, with an embarrassed chuckle. “I was just kidding around.”

 

“It’s fine. People have done worse… After all everyone in my math class asked if I was Mr.Hottie’s brother or knew any Japanese pick up lines,” Keith says. He has barely enough time to finish his sentence before both Lance and Pidge start to laugh. As they laugh, he adds, “ANYWAY, I have lunch next.” 

 

“Lucky,” Pidge and Lance respond in unison, “See you later.”

 

Keith wishes that the “later” wasn’t so far away. Or at the very least, didn’t seem so far away… With the cafeteria filled with a sea of unfamiliar faces, Keith decides to sit at one of the tables outside. When he first steps outside into the bright, mid morning light, sitting outside seems like a good idea… But as he approaches the tables, he realizes that he made a mistake. There are only two people sitting outside. And of course the two people sitting outside are the school bullies. 

 

Upon seeing them, Keith turns around and hopes that they didn’t notice them. Of course they do. “Hey China Doll, come back here.” Keith just keeps walking. “Come back before I drag you over here,” the muscular guy says. Throwing his tray to the side, Keith sprints for the door. When it comes to flight or flight, he has grown to prefer flight. 

 

Sadly, the muscular guy is strong and fast, and ends up beating him to the door. “Where do you think you are going? We haven’t welcomed you to the school yet!” 

 

“Yeah,” the pigtailed girl shouts, from her seat at one of the picnic tables, “we like to give new friends a special welcome to the school!” As she speaks, she grins. She seems to enjoy the idea of Keith getting beat up. 

 

“Cut the bullshit,” Keith responds, making it clear that he sees through their lies, “I know this about the seat thing in science. It’s just a seat!”

 

“No, you cut the bullshit,” the muscular guy, who’s name finally comes back to Keith, snarls. “You know what you did! You sassed Nyma!”

 

Keith is unable to stop himself from laughing. “Sassed? What are you an old woman?” His laughter quickly dies down when Rolo pulls his arm back and swings. Luckily for Keith, someone decides to open the door just then, resulting in him to stumble forward. Rolo, who was mid-swing isn’t able to move his arm. The result is Rolo punching the partially open door. 

 

“Ahh sorry I didn’t see you there,” a guy that looks about Keith’s age says, with an embarrassed chuckle. Or rather, a fake embarrassed chuckle. Upon noticing the mischievous gleam in his eyes, Keith has a feeling that he knew exactly what he was doing. 

 

“Look where you’re going next time, fat ass,” Rolo mutters, all the while rubbing the hand that he accidentally punched the door with. Glaring at both the heavier set guy and Keith, Rolo returns to Nyma. With Rolo temporarily unwilling to punch him, Keith picks his tray up off the ground, with the heavier set guy watching him all the while. 

 

“Thanks for the ‘accident” Keith says, with a smile, “My name is Keith.”

 

“Oh I know,” the heavier set guy responds with a loud laugh. “Lance was sending me snaps of you and Pidge while you were in science. Man, Lance is good at coming up with memes…” after allowing himself to trail off and grow quiet for a short while, he adds, “I’m Hunk.”

 

Keith can’t hide is surprise. “Hunk? Like H-U-N-K?” 

 

“Yep,” Hunk responds. “You were saved by a hunk.”

 

“I was, wasn’t I?” Keith says, with a chuckle. “I hope that I can have lunch with a Hunk too… Or rather, I hope that I can sit with a hunk. My food kinda…” Keith lets himself trail off as he motions to his tray. There are smears of food on his tray, with a thin layer of freshly cut grass on top. 

 

“I’ll share my food with you so you can eat with a hunk.” 

 

/Ayyy sorry updates might be weird for a while because I’m really busy. Also for the mistakes you pointed out… I’ll fix them eventually. People keep making funny jokes with them so I want to leave them for a while. /

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> read updates faster on my wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/289233471-counting-stars-klance-1


	8. 8

8 

 

“So is your name really Hunk?” Keith asks, all the while graciously accepting half of Hunk’s turkey sandwich. “Or did you want to have an excuse to make the hunk joke?” Quickly adding the last bit, before he loses his courage, he says, “you know, you’re actually a pretty good looking guy.” 

 

To his surprise, Hunk’s immediate response is laughter. “My name is really Hunk. The ability to make the ‘I’m a hunk’ jokes is the bonus of having such a rare name.” Eating his half of the sandwich, someohow, in just one bite, he adds, “thanks for the compliment. I don’t get complimented that much. Well I do get complimented but is usually about my cooking…” 

 

As Keith eats his sandwich in small, controlled nibbles, silence envelops them. Well, silence ALMOST envelops them. After all, they are in a crowded high school cafeteria. Once Keith finishes his half of the sandwich, Hunk hands Keith a couple of carrots. They eat in silence… Until Keith gets to his last carrot. 

 

“I know it’s not really any of my business, but why was Rolo about to punch you in the face? I’m sure he doesn’t have a good reason to… You seem like a nice guy. Then again, Rolo doesn’t usually have a reason to punch anyone. Actually he had a good reason to punch Haxus... Oh man Haxus is a jerk!” Upon noticing Keith’s confused expression, Hunk awkwardly clears this throat. “Anyway, what happened? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to…” As Hunk’s voice trails off, Keith emits a heavy sigh. Today he has interacted with his peers a lot more than he has in a long time. The interactions, both the positive and negative, are really tiring him out. Despite this, he feels like talking to Hunk. Hunk seems like an easy going guy that will let you rant with no judgement passed.

 

Keith explains the day’s events in the shortest way he can think of. His explanations turn out longer than he plans, however, with the bell ringing just as he finishes the story. 

 

“Well,” Hunk says with a chuckle as they exit the cafeteria, “at least you have art next.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

His art class is awful. Not only is the majority of the class underclassmen, but the kids that are in his grade that are in the class look like they just got out of prison or going to end up in prison. Included in said group, much to Keith’s dismay, is Rolo. 

 

Even though there are far more many desks than students in the art room, Rolo makes a point to sit close to Keith. He also make a point to blatantly ignore the teacher’s instructions and draw whatever he wants. Unfortunately for Keith, Rolo is artistically talented AND has a vivid imagination. By the end of the class, Rolo has drawn a guy that looks similar to him dying at least ten different ways. Each way looks significantly more painful than the last… One way looks so painful that with just a glimpse of the drawing Keith can feel a shiver go down his spine. 

 

When the bell rings for them to go to their next class, Keith practically leaps out of his seat. He loves the fact that he is able to get away from Rolo and his collection of morbid drawings. Just how longer can he deal with this? Just how longer will Rolo keep this up? Keith can only pray that Rolo will lose interest soon…

 

God or whatever divine being that Keith prayed to must know that Keith isn’t religious…. Must know that he isn’t religious and as a sign of their disapproval cursed him with bad luck. Or in this day’s case, have cursed him with MORE bad luck. 

 

Keith doesn’t see Rolo, Nyma, Lance, Pidge and Hunk for the rest of the day. When school is dismissed, he isn’t able to spot any of them in the crowded hallway. In the case of Rolo and Nyma it is a good thing. However, his stomach does somersaults as he thinks about Lance, Pidge and Hunk. 

 

Maybe they don’t want to be friends with him. Maybe they don’t like him at all… Maybe they were talking to him out of pity. Maybe they dared one another to talk to him… 

 

They could be making fun of him right now. 

 

Even though his brain is telling him that such an event his likely NOT occurring, his heart aches just thinking of all the possibilities… Of all the things they could or could not be doing. Despite registering the fact that they seemed genuinely interested in becoming friends with him, he can’t help but worry. He can’t help but feel scared. 

 

What if they turn out like all of his old “friends?” What if they grow bored of him? What if they forget about him? What if they leave him all alone?

 

Having become immersed in his thoughts, he doesn’t hear someone approach him… Hell he doesn’t notice someone approach him until they grab hold of his left arm… Until they grab hold of his left arm and spin around. 

 

It takes Keith a second to realize that the person who approached him is Rolo. 

 

It takes Rolo the same time to punch Keith in the face. 

 

Keith has been punched before. He is familiar with the feeling of a sore, achy face. What he is not familiar with is the feeling of his nose feeling like it is on fire as blood drips down onto his shirt. At times like this, Keith is glad that he wears black so no one can see the stain.


	9. 9

9

 

Before Keith can respond in any way, Rolo disappears into the depths of the crowded hallway. As unpleasant as getting punched was, Keith is kinda glad. It should be over now. Or at least he hopes that it’s over now… He hopes that neither Nyma or Rolo feel the need to bother him over petty things anymore. With a heavy sigh, Keith gently pushes past other people and walks into the bathroom. Even though there is no evidence of him getting punched on his shirt due to its dark color, there is plenty evidence on his face. Along with getting a bloody nose, his face is a little discolored. The bruising probably wouldn’t show if he wasn’t so pale.

 

With a heavy sigh, he wets a paper towel and starts to clean his face. Upon hearing the loud sound of a toilet flushing, Keith emits another sigh. After what happened with Rolo, he would really appreciate some time to himself. 

 

“Oh hey Keith,” a familiar voice says, before using the sink next to him. Giving his companion a quick glance, he is surprised to see Lance. Lance, who catches his quick glance looks as equally as surprised. “What happened?”

 

Despite knowing that it would be better to tell the truth, Keith mutters “I tripped.”

 

“And landed on your face? That’s one hell of a fall. What did you do, trip AND fall down the stairs?” Lance asks, all the while drying his now clean hands. Chuckling to relieve some of the tension, Lance adds, “We’ve got to stop meeting like this… With you lost or hurt. Seriously, it reminds me of a fairy tale.” 

 

Keith can’t help but laugh at Lance’s words. “You must be a fan of some shitty fairy tales then.” 

 

“Lance, hurry up I’m sick of waiting,” a voice that sounds like Hunk’s shouts from outside of the bathroom.

 

“You shouldn’t keep your friend waiting,” Keith says, all the while wiping the last few spots of blood off his face. 

 

“You mean our friend, Keithy boy,” Lance responds, with a smirk. “Hunk told me about how you two ended up sharing food. That makes you his friend. And you’re my friend too. Only friends help each other find their way home when they become lost under the hot Arizona sun.” 

 

“Unfriended,” Keith responds, with a smirk of his own. “I can’t be friends with someone that calls me ‘Keithy boy.” Before Lance can respond, Keith throws his paper towel away and walks out of the bathroom. Lance, who is offended by the fact that Keith doesn’t appreciate his “cool” nickname is quick to follow him. 

 

“Okay so ‘Keithy boy’ isn’t the best nickname I’ve ever come up with,” Lance admits, as they exit the school. “But I was under a time restriction! I was trying to make you smile. Between the bruising on your face and the frown you look really ugly.” 

 

“Nice flirting, casanova” Pidge sarcastically chirps. Pidge, who was lingering on the steps, only joins them after they successfully catch a Sandshrew in their Pokemon Go game. “Are you guys going on the bus or walking home?”

 

“Bus,” Lance and Hunk say in unison, just as Keith says “walking.”

 

“I don’t mean to tell you what to do,” Hunk says all the while nervously scratching the back of his head, “but you might want to consider taking the bus. It is really hot out and you’re wearing all black. If you don’t get overheated, you’ll at least get a sunburn.” 

 

“He’s right,” Pidge says, with their eyes never leaving their phone screen, “I walked home once and got a nasty sunburn on my forehead… You could really use some sunscreen. I think I have some in my bag.” After a brief moment of hesitation, Pidge slips their phone into their pocket so they can take their backpack off and rummage through it. 

 

“Aha!” Pidge exclaims, all the while holding the sunscreen bottle high in the air. “And it is the spray kind too! It looks like you’re all set Keith.”

 

“He is but I’m not,” Hunk says, with a heavy sigh. “The bus that just left was my bus.”

 

“Aww ma, mine comes before yours so I missed mine too,” Lance whines. “This sucks, now I’m going to have to melt with Keith.”

 

“Oh look it’s my bus,” Pidge says. Upon noticing the sad and disappointed looks on their friends faces, Pidge emits a loud sigh. “Fine I’ll walk with you guys, but only if we walk to McDonald’s and have our parents pick us up from there. I am not a fan of walking or melting.” 

 

“Deal,” Lance responds on the behalf of himself, Hunk and Keith. “Now let’s get walking. Keith looks like he is melting already.” 

 

“I’m not sweating, it’s the sunscreen.” 

 

“Keep telling yourself that buddy.” 

 

/Ayyy sorry for the slow Klance build. There should be more Klance in future chapters./


	10. 10

10

When they order their food at McDonald’s, Keith is very surprised. Pidge, the smallest out of all of them, orders the most food. In fact, they are the only one that orders food. The rest of them just settle for milkshakes. 

 

While Hunk and Pidge make respectable milkshake choices by getting chocolate milk shakes, Lance does the unthinkable. He orders a strawberry milkshake. 

 

“Strawberry milkshakes are gross,” Keith comments, earning himself words of agreement from Pidge and an outraged gasp from Lance. 

 

“Keith,” Lances hisses, with fire in his dark brown eyes, “How can you say that? Strawberry milkshakes are the sweetest drinks on this planet! How can you NOT like strawberry milkshakes? Have you even tried one? You won’t know if it is gross if you don’t try it?”

 

“Actually you can,” Pidge chirps, all the while adjusting their glasses. “Just think about it. Everyone knows drinking pee would be gross but no one has tried it to confirm it.” Upon hearing their words, Lance’s facial expression changes to that of one of anger and disgust. 

 

“Did you,” he hisses so sharply that is sounds as though his words are cutting through the air, “just compare strawberry milkshakes to pee? DO YOU WANNA FIGHT?” 

 

“Oh god here come the memes,” Hunk sighs, all the while grabbing the tray that has their order on it. 

 

As they walk to the nearest table, Pidge snarls, “COME AT ME BRO!” Despite the anger and tension in the air, Pidge and Lance laugh it off. Such a weird turn of events confuses Keith. How could they be so angry at eachother one minute and be laughing at each other the next? 

 

“Do you two really have to do that EVERY time we come here?” Hunk asks, before starting to drink his milkshake. In response, Pidge and Lance laugh again. 

 

“Yes we do,” Pidge says, just before consuming half of their burger in one bite, “Unless you care to settle it… Are strawberry milkshakes gross or good?” 

 

At this, Hunk emits the loudest sigh that Keith has ever heard. “As much as I hate to get involved in your petty arguments I will settle this. But only if Keith helps as well. I don’t want either one of you getting mad at me for agreeing with the other.”

 

“No.” Is Keith’s automatic responds. However, some begging from Pidge and nagging from Lance are quick to give him a headache. A headache he would LOVE not to have. Despite knowing that he could easily just leave… After all, it isn’t like him to do this in the first place, he stays. He stays and gives in. 

 

“Fine,” Keith says, with a loud sigh. “But I’m only taking one sip.” Reluctantly accepting the milkshake that Lance hands him, he takes a sip. A small sip. A sip so small that barely even a drop touches his tongue. To Keith’s annoyance, everyone is quick to notice his pathetic excuse of a sip. 

 

“I can understand not want to drink much,” Pidge comments, after popping a fry into their mouth, “but if you TRULY want to judge the taste you need to drink more.” With a heavy sigh, Keith drinks more. In fact, he chugs it. By the time he is done, he has drank half of the strawberry milkshake. 

 

“It’s disgusting,” Keith concludes, to the surprise of everyone present. 

 

“It’s disgusting?” Lance shrieks, “You drank half of my milkshake! Nobody chugs a drink they don’t like. You’re a liar! Liar liar pants on fire.” Before Keith can so much as blink, Lance grabs his milkshakes and chugs it. He drinks about half. “There, now we’re even.”

 

“If we’re going to act like this,” Hunk says, with a chuckle, “I just want to point something out. What you two just did… Swapping drinks, you just shared an indirect kiss.” At this, both Lance and Keith cough while Pidge nearly chokes on one of their fries. 

 

“You know Hunk, buddy, pal,” Lance responds, once he is able to regain his composure, “if you use that kind of logic, we’ve had,” Lance stops to counting using his fingers, “like seven indirect kisses.” 

 

“Eww,” is Pidge’s almost automatic response. “Who shares their drink that many times?” 

 

“This guy,” Lance says, weirdly proud of it. “You should know Pidge. We’ve had like,” once again he stops to count using his fingers, “two indirect kisses.” 

 

At this Pidge snorts. “Two? Did you really need your fingers to count that? Also, I’m pretty sure it was once and on accident at that.” 

 

As the two of them argue, Keith realizes something. With Lance, Hunk and Pidge he feels comfortable. He feels safe. All in all, the emotions he feels spreads a warm wave over his body. He can’t quite recall the last time he felt this way. 

 

Actually, maybe he can...

 

Keith’s mother isn’t religious or superstitious, yet there is one thing she swears by. There is something she assures him that ALWAYS works. 

 

Counting stars. 

 

“You don’t count all of them,” his mother informs him, from her position on the roof just to the right of him. As she speaks, she gazes at the stars with a bright eyes. It is as though her very eyes are stars. Stars that are trying to connect with other stars. “You only count up to your favorite number. When you’re done counting, make a wish.”

 

If Keith was able to count stars and make a wish right now, he’d wish for one thing… He’d wish that his mom could be with him. That she could be talking and laughing with him… That she could meet his friends. If he can even call him that. He just met them today, after all. In other words, his wish would be “I wish my mom was still alive.


	11. 11

11 

 

“So, did you have fun with your friends?” Is Keith’s adoptive mother’s first questions as soon as he is in her red Kia Soul. Buckling his seat belt, Keith debates whether or not he wants to answer her question… Whether or not that he wants to admit that they are his friends, and that he enjoys their company. 

 

It hurts.... It hurts having her ask the same question every time they move… Having her being disappointed when he fails to make friends or fails to have fun. He wants to make friends and he wants to have fun but how can he do so when he is always the “strange new kid”? 

 

“I guess,” is the sorry excuse of an answer that he settles for. At this, she sighs. She always asks the same question, and Keith always gives the same answer. However, he doesn’t always get punched in the face on his first day of school. In moments like this, Keith is thankful for his long bangs that hide most of the damage (as long as he keeps his head down). 

 

“Oh is that the boy that walked you home yesterday?” She asks to Keith’s horror, just as Lance starts to walk down the sidewalk. “Hey, do you need a ride home?” To this, Keith emits a loud sigh. His mother will stop at NOTHING to make sure he has friends wherever they move to. 

 

“I don’t and one would be very appreciated,” Lance responds, completely ignoring the various hand signals that Keith is trying to give him. Hell, he doesn’t just ignore the hand signals… When Lance sees that Keith is making a shooing motion, he sticks his tongue out at him. Even though Keith just had a bonding moment with Lance and the rest of them in McDonalds, he now has a strong urge to punch Lance in the face. 

 

Keith ESPECIALLY wants to punch Lance when he makes it his goal to get in the car as fast as possible AND to have a conversation with his mother. “How are you today, beautiful?” Correction, Keith wants to punch Lance because he is FLIRTING WITH HIS MOTHER. 

 

Almost immediately, she laughs. Tucking a stray strand of blond her behind her ear, she replies, “Before we get going, please give me an idea of where you live, Casanova.”

 

At the nickname, Lance laughs and Keith groans. He hates this already! Have they all really only been in the car for thirty seconds?

 

Luckily, Lance senses Keith’s annoyance and gives instructions to his house with no further complications.

 

Well ALMOST no further complications. Just before he gets out of the car, he says, “Keith you might wanna put ice on your face when you get home.” 

 

Before Lance can even completely shut the door, Keith’s mother asks, “Why would you need to put ice on your face?” 

 

“No reason,” is Keith’s creative reply. At this, his mother sighs. 

 

“Keith,” she says in a soft voice, as they back out of Lance’s driveway. “You can tell me anything. The same goes for your father. Talk to us once in awhile. We like to make sure you are okay.” With a pause… With a brief moment of hesitation, she adds, “You aren’t getting bullied already, are you?”

 

“No, I fell,” Keith lies, all the while gazing out the window. He can never lie while looking at his mother. For good measure, he adds, “I hate it here. It is hot and the school flooring is uneven. I’m either going to melt or crack my head open.” 

 

Keith’s mother sighs once again. If Keith got a dollar every time his mother sighed he would be rich. With neither of them in the mood to talk to each other further, they ride home in silence. 

 

The silence is painful. It makes Keith all too aware of how him and his parents can never get along. 

 

/Sorry for the short chapter! I felt like if I made it longer it would turn out bad./

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me! 
> 
> twitter: akianra -> https://twitter.com/akianra 
> 
> tumblr: volleycatnika -> http://volleycatnika.tumblr.com/
> 
> wattpad (READ UPDATES FASTER): nikaravenscraft -> https://www.wattpad.com/user/nikaravenscraft


	12. Chapter 12

12 

That night, Keith tosses and turns in his bed. His new bed is a lot less comfortable than his old one… He can practically feel the springs within the mattress dig into his back. With a small sigh, he settles for a position that involves him laying on his left side. In this position, he has reduced the number of springs digging into him. 

 

If only he could reduce his energy… Ever since his argument his mother, his body has been filled with a strange energy. An energy that has made him physically and mentally restless.

 

He should tell her what happened. 

 

He should tell both of his parents what happened. 

 

But he can’t bring himself to. If we were to do so, he would remind himself of just how many times he has lied… How many times he has gotten bullied. How many times he needed help but refused to let his parents help him. He didn’t tell them because he didn’t want them to worry. He didn’t tell them because he wanted them to be happy and to think that he was happy. Most importantly, he didn’t tell them because, by doing so, he could pretend that it didn’t happen. 

 

He could pretend that is peers weren’t using racial slurs as a replacement for his name. He could pretend that his peers didn’t perform infamous act of stealing lunch money, or shoving him into his locker. Most importantly, he could pretend that his peers weren’t bullying him for being gay. 

 

For a long time, he managed to convince himself that it was just a nightmare. A nightmare that was riddled with sweet dreams. Sweet dreams that would disappear just as suddenly as they appeared. 

 

Now… 

 

Now he can’t pretend. He can’t pretend because he has met people who made it real. People such as Hunk who stood up for him. People like Lance who seemed genuinely concerned about him. He has rarely had either of those two things occur since he has been in school. He thought that everyone his age hated. After all, he is different. Those who are different terrify his peers. 

 

With many unpleasant memories replaying themselves in his mind, Keith emits an annoyed groan before getting out of bed. It seems as though he won’t be sleeping for a while. He may as well make the most of it, right? 

 

After slipping on his well loved red sneakers, Keith eases himself out onto the roof. His mother, the adoptive one that is, would be livid if she found out he was sitting on the roof. With their roof being far from flat, just one little slip could result in him falling to the ground below. 

 

Despite knowing that her worries are valid, he sits on the roof anyway. He hasn’t done it for a while… He hasn’t thought about his mother… He hasn’t looked to the sky or the memories of her for comfort. 

 

Taking a deep breath, he lets the cool night air fill his lungs. The chill in air calms him by helping him form a strong root to the present. By making some of his unpleasant memories return to their rightful places in the back of his mind. Soon after the unpleasant memories leave, pleasant ones replace them. 

 

A certain pleasant memory stands out to him. It involves his biological mother sitting on a roof together… Sitting and talking. 

 

“You only count up to your favorite number.” Her eyes seem to become even brighter as she adds, “I count up to 21, since you were born on March 21st.”

 

Being a ten year old boy who adores his mother, his response is quick and predictable “I’ll count to 10 since you were born on February 10th .” He practically yells due to his excitement.

 

His mother’s response is musical laughter. “I’m glad you’re excited. Now, count up to your number and when you’re done, make a wish.” 

 

Almost as if on impulse, his lips start to form numbers. Since he can’t recall how to say all of the numbers in Korean, he just counts in English. “1...2...3…” What should he wish for? Should he wish for happiness? Should he wish for world peace? “4...5...6…” He had wished for stupid things when he was little. He doesn’t want to waste this wish. “7...8...9…”At the last second, he finally thinks of a good wish. “10. I wish…”

 

A sudden wind carries away his words, preventing Keith from hearing his own wish out loud. It is okay, he doesn’t need to hear it out loud. Instead, he needs to hear it in his heart. 

 

Spending another ten or so minutes gazing at the bright stars, Keith reluctantly returns to his room. He could gaze at the stars all night... The mesmerizing stars that filled him with wonder and hope when he was little. Part of him, a foolish part of him, can’t help but think that if he gazes at them long enough that his wish will come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> read updates faster on wattpad: nikaravenscraft  
> yell at me on twitter: akianra  
> yell at me on tumblr: volleycatnika  
> yell at me on ask.fm: akianra
> 
> THANKS FOR READING!


	13. Chapter 13

13

“You look tired,” is the first thing Lance says to Keith upon seeing him at school. Keith certainly feels tired. Even though the stars calmed him, had trouble falling asleep… In other words, he only got about four hours of sleep. Four hours may seem like a fair amount of sleep to some people. For Keith, it isn’t nearly enough. He needs at least six hours to prevent himself from feeling the urge to punch everyone. He then needs an additional two hours to actually feel rested. 

 

“Thanks,” he responds, with a yawn, “because that is the first thing I wanted to hear in the morning.”

 

“Of course it is,” Lance jokes, sensing Keith’s poor mood. He decides to cheer Keith up in the only way he knows how… By telling lame jokes. “On a likeable and hotness level from one to five I am a strong one.”

 

“With five being the most likeable and attractive?” Pidge asks, randomly joining Keith and Lance in their walk to their first class. Their sudden appearance makes both Keith and Lance jump. “That seems accurate.” 

 

“PIDGEEEEE,” Lance whines almost immediately, “you’re such a bully!” 

 

“Says the guy that stole my crayons in kindergarten,” Pidge responds, with a huff. Although Pidge is trying to seem angry, Keith catches it… The smirk on their face. 

 

“It was ONE CRAYON,” Lance shouts, quickly earning the three of them glares from their peers, “And it was MY crayon. MY BLUE CRAYON! BEST FRIENDS ARE SUPPOSED TO STEAL THEIR FRIEND’S FAVORITE COLOR!” Lance’s response results in him and Pidge arguing about really happened. Somehow the argument changes into a meme battle. The meme battle is when the real shouting begins. 

 

Thanks to Pidge and Lance (mostly Lance… According to Hunk, Lance could be heard from the other side of the school) all three of them get a detention. Between his lack of sleep, his sore face from the incident with Rolo the previous day, and the Arizona heat, Keith feels like punching someone. And by someone he is thinking of Lance. 

 

Thanks for getting me a detention on my second day here. Please note the sarcasm. Keith writes on a piece of lined paper, and crumples it into a ball. With the teacher on detention duty too busy reading something on his phone, Keith throws the ball at Lance, hitting him on the side of the head. 

 

Lance proves to be a quick reader, and within seconds, has written a response and thrown the paper back at Keith.   
I’m not the only one that got us in trouble! Pidge was yelling too! Also, you can’t be completely mad at us, we tried to explain that you had nothing to do with the yelling. 

 

With a small sigh, Keith writes, You YELLED at the teacher that I had nothing to do with the yelling. I then had to YELL at you to stop YELLING because the teacher was getting so angry that their face was turning red. BRIGHT RED! That kind of red is usually only seen in stop signs! With that written, Keith throws the paper at Lance. This time, he hits Lance’s nose. At this, Lance glares at him, but reads the paper anyway.

 

Scribbling a response, he throws the paper at Keith, hitting him in the chin. Now it is Keith’s turn to glare before reading the paper. We can make it up to you! Or at least I can… My sister works at the local ice cream shop. I can get us free ice cream. As for Pidge… They can make sure your computer doesn’t have a virus or something? IDK 

 

Lance and Keith continue to throw the paper at each other… When they run out of room on one side of the paper, they write on the other. Eventually Pidge gets bored of pretending to do homework and joins them in the paper throwing. By some stroke of luck, the teacher with detention duty doesn’t notice what they are doing… Doesn’t notice that they are stifling laughs and grinning at each other like fools. 

 

At the end of their two hour after school detention, they walk silently out of the classroom. Once they are a fair distance away, they burst into laughter. 

 

“As much as memes annoy me,” Keith remarks, “I think the frog on the unicycle would make a better president than Trump.” 

 

“PLEASE,” Pidge says, in between fits of laughter, “Anyone would make a better president than Trump. Even Lance who literally flirts with everyone would make a better president than Trump.” 

 

Once Lance hears what Pidge says, he stops laughing. Screeching in usual Lance fashion, he says, “I DO NOT flirt with everyone! I’m just a talkative, outgoing person. People love me. I love me!” 

 

Pidge snorts. “The second to last part is debatable” 

 

As Keith listens to Lance and Pidge bicker, he can’t help but let a smile spread across his face. Lance and Pidge are nice and funny… Overall they are great people. Overall, they are great friends. Does he dare to call them friends? He is reluctant to… After all, making friends makes moving painful. At times like this, Keith wishes that they would never move again… That they could make Arizona their home. Even though Arizona is dusty and hot, good friends, especially ones that can get you free ice cream can make it bearable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> read updates faster on wattpad: nikaravenscraft  
> yell at me on twitter: akianra  
> yell at me on tumblr: volleycatnika  
> yell at me on ask.fm: akianra
> 
> THANKS FOR READING!


	14. Chapter 14

14 

 

“You must be Keith,” is the first thing Lance’s sister says to him. With the same tan skin and dark hair she looks a lot like Lance, save for gleam in her eyes. The gleam in her eyes isn’t mischievous, instead it makes her seem wise. It’s as though she knows something that he doesn’t… “Voltron won’t stop talking about you.” Noticing his confusion, she quickly adds, “Voltron is what I use to refer to Lance, Pidge and Hunk when I’m too lazy to list off all of their names. Voltron is also comic that they’re obsessed with. If you’re not careful you’ll end up being obsessed with it too.”

 

“If you’re not careful?” Lance hisses, “Keith would be lucky to read Voltron. Voltron is the greatest literary work of all time, even if a majority of it is just pictures.” Having to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down he adds, “You know what? It’s okay. You’re my sister and I love you.” 

 

When Lance’s sister raises a questioning eyebrow, Pidge explains. “Sofia, he just wants free ice cream. In fact, we all want free ice cream… Although Keith is the only one that deserves free ice cream. He didn’t do anything wrong but he ended up having to serve a detention with us.” 

 

“I should’ve known,” Sofia responds, with a small sigh. “In that case, Keith gets free ice cream, you get a discount and Lance has to pay for his.” 

 

“Sofiaaaaaaaa,” Lance whines, “I only have three dollars.”

 

Pretending to have to think about it for a while, she says, “Oh fine you all can get free ice cream. Just know that you can’t get anymore free ice cream until next month or my boss will be pissed.” With the teasing over with, Sofia takes their orders. Once she has the order written down she disappears into the depths of the ice cream shop with a mischievous smile on her face.

 

“Sofia is the best,” Pidge says, with a dreamy look on their face. “On time she let me have a jumbo sized milkshake, which normally costs $8, for free. Another time, she put extra toppings on my banana split without charging me,” with a brief pause, they add, “I just really love free ice cream.”

 

“Trust me I know,” Lance mutters grumpily, “you’re probably the reason why my sister has met her monthly free ice cream max so soon. You act all cute and get an ice cream whenever you want. Hell, you probably could get yourself free ice cream everyday if you wanted to. You’re a cheater, Pidge. A cheater and a traitor.” 

 

At this, Pidge scoffs. “I’m nothing of the sort. I’m intelligent. I take my small stature and make it useful. What have you done with your lanky stature, Mr. Bean?” 

 

“PIDGE I SWEAR TO-” Lance starts to screech, just as Sofia returns with their orders.   
“YOU TWO, STOP FIGHTING AND GET YOUR ICE CREAM,” She shouts, with her voice being so loud that it echo’s within Keith’s ears. Apparently Lance isn’t the only one in his family that is capable at yelling a nearly inhuman volume. Despite being able to hear her perfectly clear, Lance and Pidge bicker for a few minutes longer. While they wrap up their bickering, Keith gets his ice cream. 

 

Grabbing the ice cream with one hand, Keith moves to get a napkin with another. Before he can pull one out of the napkin dispenser, Sofia hand him one. Keith is quick to notice that something is written on it. After a moment of hesitation, he reads the message. In a whisper, he says, “You want me to text your brother? I guess I can. Although it is kinda stupid, we see eachother at school everyday.”

 

Before she can reply, Lance and Pidge finally get their ice cream. With a subtle nod, Sofia watches them walk away. Taking her nod as a yes, Keith decides to just go with it. Shoving the napkin in his pocket, he follows Pidge and Lance who have a table picked out. He’ll add Lance’s number to his phone later. MAYBE. It might not be the best idea to text him... Lance seems like the type of guy who would text “I have something important to tell you” at three in the morning and then proceed to send him memes. 

 

Once the three of them settle in at a small table in a corner of the shop, Lance begins talking. “So what were you and my sister talking about?” As he speaks, he wiggles his eyebrows. “Were you flirting.” 

 

Before Keith can respond, Pidge does. “Okay Lance, two things. One, Keith doesn’t seem like the type to intentionally flirt. Two, you guys bonded over the hot math teacher on like the first day of school. I don’t mean to assume, but I think he’s gay.” Keith has to suppress a chuckle. He can’t help but feel that Pidge is part of Lance’s brain since they are helping him recall things that occurred in the past. 

 

“Pidge, two things,” Lance responds, imitating Pidge. He even goes to the extent to set his ice cream down and use his hands to make glasses. “One, literally everyone thinks Shiro is hot. Two, I think he’s bi. I don’t know why, I’ve just got a feeling.

 

“You having the desire to high five someone and be able to shout ‘bi-five’ does not count as having a ‘feeling’ of what Keith’s sexuality is,” Pidge responds, not acting fazed whatsoever by Lance’s words. Between Pidge’s lack of a reaction and Lance’s dramatic reaction, Keith can’t help but laugh. 

 

Keith’s laugher proves to be contagious, with Lance and Pidge soon laughing along with him. Keith is unsure of why they laugh for so long. After all, Lance and Pidge’s exchange wasn’t that funny. 

 

Perhaps they are just laughing because they can… Because they’re young and laughing makes them feel like they’re alive. Keith hasn’t felt this alive in a long time.


	15. Chapter 15

15   
It isn’t until that night, when Keith is almost asleep that he remembers… That he remembers the napkin that he put in his pocket that had Lance’s number on it. Muttering a string of curses, he reluctantly throws his blankets aside, and gets out of bed. Slowly shuffling to his dirty clothes pile (or what his mother prefers to call “stink mountain”) he is only aided by the faint moonlight shining through his window as he tries to figure out which pair of black pants he wore earlier. Did I wear sweatpants or jeans? Maybe I wore cargo pants… With a loud, frustrated sigh, he almost gives up. Luckily, his trial and error method of searching every pocket of every pair of pants save him. Recognizing the soft feeling of a napkin brushing on his fingertips, Keith pulls the napkin out of his pocket. 

 

Due to his excitement, he pulls it out a bit too fast. The result is a ripped and unreadable string of numbers. Cursing worse than a sailor, Keith angrily crumples up the remnants of the napkin and throws it away. So much for texting Lance… Having his number would have been good in case he was out sick and needed to know what he missed. Or, more likely, Lance would be a good guy to call if the Arizona sun did manage to melt him down into a puddle. 

 

Perhaps it is because he is tired, or perhaps it is because he likes Lance more than he originally thought, but Keith ends up going on his laptop. Specifically, he ends up logging onto facebook. 

 

Thankful for the fact that he managed to catch Lance’s last name during attendance, Keith types Lance’s full name into the search bar. The Lance he knows is one of the first few results, with him being easily identifiable in his profile picture. In his profile picture, Lance is clad in nothing but swim trunks, standing ankle deep in ocean waves. Squinting in order to read the tiny caption, Keith reads, “I love California! I wish I could stay here forever.” Curious at to when Lance was in California, Keith looks at the post date, which is marked for June of the previous year. After feeding his curiosity, Keith lets his eyes wander back to the picture. 

 

Under the bright California sun Lance’s tan skin seems to glow, and his eyes look just as bright as the blue ocean. Keith chews his lip as he tried to decide if he should send his friend request now… If he should send it and potentially gain access to even more of Lance’s photos. Taking a second to check what time it is Keith is surprised to see that it is one in the morning. It’s one in the morning and he has to get up at five. Fantastic.

 

Against his better judgement, he sends the friend request. To his surprise, Lance accepts it immediately and greets him with a message. 

 

Lance: u should sleep

 

Despite knowing that he shouldn’t respond and instead go back to bed, Keith quickly types a response. 

 

Keith: so should you

 

Lance: good point

 

Lance: I’m surprised u have a fb

 

Lance: u seem like the type that wouldn’t

 

Keith: There’s a “type” that doesn’t have a facebook? Oh and Lance did you seriously write out every word except “you”?

 

Lance: u seem like a hipster that doesn’t like mainstream media

 

Lance: a dark hipster

 

Lance: a prince of the night

 

Lance: u can’t judge me Mr. I wear all black in Arizona and therefore seem to have a death wish

 

Keith: your insult was so long I almost feel asleep 

 

Lance: the jokes is on u, sleep is good for you!

 

Keith: wow you’re a genius

 

Lance: I smell sarcasm

 

Keith: don’t you sense, not smell sarcasm

 

Lance: I mean what I said

 

Keith: you really need sleep you’re being weirder than normal

 

Lance: I’m not weird I’m original

 

Keith: that’s one way to put it

 

Lance: wow rudeee

The two stay up far longer than they mean to. Talking until their eyelids drop and heads slump, both teens fall asleep at their computers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> read updates faster on wattpad: nikaravenscraft  
> yell at me on twitter: akianra  
> yell at me on tumblr: volleycatnika  
> yell at me on ask.fm: akianra
> 
> THANKS FOR READING!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing 5 fics and a research paper at once
> 
> I'm an idiot

16

 

“Well you two look like death,” Pidge remarks upon noticing that both Lance and Keith arrive to school in a zombie like state. Just how late did you stay up?”

 

“Don’t know and don’t care,” Lance mutters, “I need more caffeine.” Chugging the last of his ice coffee, Lance throws his bottle at the nearest trash can, hoping for it to fall in. It doesn’t. In fact, he misses the trash can by three feet. However, he still manages to hit something or rather someone. 

 

It isn’t until the hooded figure turns around that they recognize them as being Rolo. “The face he’s making looks like he just sucked on a lemon,” Pidge jokes, trying to make light of the situation. “Hey Rolo, calm down! It was just an accident!” 

 

“Accident?” Rolo snarls in response, “How could it be an accident when he is involved,” pointing first to Lance, then to to Keith, he adds, “Did you not learn your lesson?” 

 

“Wait wait wait,” Lance says, rubbing his temples as he thinks. “Are you the one that gave Keith a bloody nose a while back?”

 

“Maybe I did maybe I didn’t” Rolo responds, with a smirk. “What are you going to do about it, Pedro?” As soon as Rolo utters Pedro all hell breaks loose. A tired Keith is tries to prevent a tired Lance from taking on a well rested Rolo. All the while their peers cluster around them, because they can sense that a fight is going to break out soon. Amongst the crowded hallway it is easy for Keith to lose track of Pidge. Just as soon as he thinks that he spots them once again, the fire alarms screech.

 

Due to the firearm, the hallway is cleared out quickly. Rolo who isn’t as tough as they all thought, is one of the first to exit the building. 

 

“You can thank me for saving your life later,” Pidge whispers, as teachers struggle to put students in smaller, easy to count groups. After a brief pause, the add, “What were you thinking, going after him while you’re so tired? If you’re going to fight him you need to get a good night’s rest. That and eat healthy foods. Oh and build up muscle mass. 

 

“Please don’t encourage him,” Keith mutters. Although first hesitating, he ends up adding, “I know being insulted like that sucks, but it isn’t worth getting into a fight over.” 

 

“It wasn’t about that,” Lance responds, with a small yawn. “Well part of it was… I was mostly mad about the fact that he punched you in the face and gave you a bloody nose.” 

 

Although surprised, Keith manages to respond. “It’s no big deal. His punches aren’t that bad. I’ve felt worse.”

 

“That isn’t comforting,” Pidge remarks, earning words of agreement from Lance. “You don’t deserve to get punched. People like, Rolo and Nyma however…” Pidge hisses when they spot Nyma in the distance. “They should get punched twenty times in a row and see how they like it.”

 

“It doesn’t feel good,” Keith jokes. However, it isn’t clear that he is joking. Due to that, both Pidge and Lance emit loud gasps. “I was kidding!” Keith exclaims, “I was just trying to lighten the mood…” 

 

“Good,” Lance responds, “If you weren’t I was going to embark on a cross country trip to find who punched you twenty times in the row and punch them twenty times in a row”. Just as Lance finishes his sentence teachers start to allow them to reenter the building. “Awww man,”Lance groans, “ just realized that I put my shirt on backwards.” 

 

“And Keith’s is inside out,” Pidge says, with an evil giggle. “I was going to tell you, but you were too busy getting ready to fight Rolo….”

 

“Pidgeeeeeeeeeee” Lance whines, “Why must you always betray me?” 

 

“Because it’s funny… Well, it’s funny until you whine. You whine louder than a sad dog,” Pidge responds, ending their sentence by stick out their tongue. “Oh, and I’m curious… Why did you two stay up so late? In fact, why are both of you so tired? Did you stay up together? Or did you keep Keith up against his will, spamming him with memes? I bet they were bad memes or old memes. After all, you only use those horrid memes like dat boi.” 

 

“Pidge, foolish Pidge,” Lance says, all the while shaking his head side to side in disappointment. “Dat boi isn’t an old meme. It is a timeless meme. A timeless meme that few are able to fully appreciate for it’s frog riding a unicycle glory.”

 

“You didn’t answer my questions, Lance,” Pidge says all the while letting their gaze shift back and forth between the two of them. “You did stay up together! What did you guys talking about? Give me all of the details!”

 

“No I don’t wanna. I bet Keith doesn’t want to either. After all, you’d probably make a blog post about on conversation on tumblr, which is a HUGE break of the friend code. Besides, the conversation was a top secret, Lance and Keith only conversation! We can’t have the whole world knowing that we plan to take it over.”

 

“So you two must have had either a really lame or really interesting conversation if you are hiding it,” Pidge says, narrowing their golden eyes. “Either way, I WILL find out what you talked about! It’s not a threat. It ‘s a guarantee.”

 

At this, the only thing Lance whispers to Keith, “We should probably change our facebook passwords.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for 100 kudos!

17

 

That night, Keith both is surprised to find that he has messages from Lance.

 

Lance: Did you change your password yet?

 

Keith: no

 

Lance: Why not?

 

Keith: I’m lazy. Besides if Pidge is determined enough to hack my fb then they kinda deserve to be able to look around. But only a little bit. I do deserve some privacy.

 

Lance: u r a braveeee man. Seriously pidge could fill your fb with memes

 

Keith: They already do. They friended me at lunch and now my timeline is filled with memes.

 

Lance: Wow you’re already a goner. OOOOH that reminds me, I haven’t looked through all of your profile pics yet.

 

Keith: Most of them aren’t pictures of me.

 

Lance: IDC I’m still curious

 

Keith: I rarely change it

 

Lance: gasPPPP your first profile pic was of a unicorn

 

Lance: that’s pretty gay

 

Keith: I think we’ve (you, Pidge, Hunk & I) have already confirmed that I am gay

 

Lance: oh yeah we did back when you were making fun of my milkshake choice btw that was rudeeee

 

Keith: I wasn’t being rude I was stating a fact. Strawberry milkshakes are disgusting.

 

Lance: You know what isn’t disgusting?

 

Lance: You. At least when you aren’t picking on poor strawberry milkshakes.

 

Keith: Are you trying to flirt with me?

 

Lance: It depends… Is it working?

 

With shaking hands, Keith logs out of facebook. He isn’t really sure what he is feeling right now… Fear? Nervousness? Excitement? Whatever it is, it makes his whole body shake like a dry leaf in the wind. He can’t help but wonder what Lance’s intentions are. Is Lance REALLY trying to flirt with him? Or is he justing being goofy (and honestly, a bit annoying)? With a loud sigh Keith closes the lid of his laptop and sits on his bed. Once on his bed he lets himself fall backward so he can stare up at the ceiling. Almost immediately he regrets his choice because the springs of his bed dig into his back and the ceiling of his bedroom lacks anything interesting to look at.

 

“Why is he flirting with me? I though he like Nyma,” Keith whispers to himself, all the while turning his head so he can gaze out the window. “Why is he even friends with me? Why is Pidge friends with me? Why is Hunk friends with me? I don’t get it… Why do any of them like me?” With another sigh, Keith rolls so his whole body is facing the window. “They don’t know anything about me… Then again, I don’t know much about them.” With various thoughts and questions popping into his head, he almost misses it… The quiet ping of his cellphone. Not really in the mood to talk to anyone, he ignores it. That is, until his phone starts to ping continuously. 

 

With yet another sigh, Keith pulls his phone out of his pocket. 

 

Lance: ok so it’s not working

 

Lance: Would you prefer puns?

 

Lance: KEIIIITTTTTHHHHHHHH

 

Lance: KEITH 

 

Lance: keith

 

Lance: Did I do something wrong?

 

Lance: okay so you don’t want to talk

 

Lance: Can you at least listen or in this case read?

 

Lance: Ummm anyway I just wanted you to know that I enjoyed our late night chat. A lot.

 

Lance: I want to talk to you like that more, but in person

 

Lance: we could just be two dudes hanging out

 

Lance: or it could be a date

 

Lance: whatever you’re the most comfortable with.

 

Lance: ok I’ll stop spamming you now

 

Lance: bye

 

Keith has to read the conversation a couple of times to fully understand what Lance is trying. Could Lance really have a crush on him? Could Lance have a crush on him AND Nyma? Although he is tempted to ignore Lance, he types a response. 

 

Keith: You like Nyma. If Rolo dumps her you should ask her out. 

 

Without waiting for a response, he puts his phone back in his pants pocket. Gazing at the stars with tired eyes, he whispers, “I guess my wish hasn’t come true yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently writing five fics and a research paper at once. Please be patient when it comes to updates. Thanks for reading!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for 100+ kudos!

18 

When Keith wakes up the next morning, a wave of regret washes over him. He shouldn’t have said what he did. He is tempted to blame his poor response on Lance. Lance flirts with everyone. Lance’s gaze lingers on more than a few people at school. How the hell is Keith supposed to be able tell that he likes him? How is he supposed to be able to tell that he isn’t just a replacement for one of Lance’s other crushes… How is he supposed to be able to tell that he isn’t just a replacement for Nyma? 

As if on cue, his mother enters his bedroom. “You’re awake already,” she notes, with a surprised look on her face. “It’s a miracle! You usually try to sleep until the last minute.” Although she keeps a light hearted tone, he can feel her analyzing him. Why would he be awake? Could he be sick? Could he have had a nightmare? Could he be having a panic attack? 

“I can’t go to school,” he mutters, all the while forcing himself to ignore his phone. His phone, that has one, little red light repeatedly flashing. Before he can emit a sorry attempt of an excuse, she interrupts him. 

“Is it you can’t or you don’t want to?” She asks, all the taking a seat on the edge of his bed. Just realizing just how loud her voice is, she softens her it, “Talk to me honey.” 

Talk. Keith should talk. Keith should talk but he doesn't want to. He doesn’t want to talk about the whirlwind of emotions he's feeling… He doesn’t want to let the thoughts that are making his brain fuzzy enter the air… To surround his body. Such a thing would overwhelm him. Overwhelm him, and make him cry. 

“I get it, you don’t want to talk,” she says after a few minutes of silence, “However, you should keep in mind that it isn’t good to bottle it all up. You could keep a journal or something… I wouldn’t read it, I promise.” Giving his left leg a gentle pat, he adds, “Even though I don’t like you missing school, I think you need a day to yourself. I’ll let you stay home.” Before Keith can thank her, she gives him a quick kiss on the forehead and leaves, closing his bedroom door behind her. 

Keith isn’t sure what to do with himself. His mind is way too active to sleep… He is to antsy to sit in one place and read… He could listen to music but that would require him to unlock his phone. To unlock his phone, and have the notification in his face. He would have to have Lance’s response in his face. 

He doesn’t want to see Lance’s response. He’s afraid that of what Lance may have said. If Keith were Lance, he would have texted something like I can’t belive I decided to be friends with a jerk like you. If Keith were Lance, he would be sure to add, I don’t want to be friends with you anymore. 

Keith isn’t sure why the possibility of losing Lance as a friend bothers him so much. Being someone who has spent more time traveling than in living in one place, losing friends has become a part of his life. Yet this time, it is different. 

He bonded with Lance, Pidge and Hunk so quickly…

They accepted him for who he is. They even offered to defend him from the temperamental Rolo. 

He can count on one hand the number of people who care for him as much as they do, that accept him for who he is, and are willing to defend him.

Feeling so many emotions bubble up inside that he feels as though he is going to explode, Keith hastily grabs his pillow. Once he has his pillow, he presses it to his face and screams into it. Why did I have to text him that? ‘Keith: You like Nyma. If Rolo dumps her you should ask her out.’ Why did he have to ruin our friendship? Why, why, why? 

When he hears his phone ring, signalling that someone is calling him, he reluctantly tosses his pillow aside. To his surprise, Pidge is calling him through Facebook messenger. With shaking hands, he accepts the call. 

“Do you know what is wrong with Lance? He hasn’t sent me a single meme this morning. He never forgets to send me a morning meme,” Pidge shouts, making Keith grateful that his phone is on speakerphone and resting a good foot away from him. 

Should he lie? Or should he be honest? 

“I,” he responds, and almost immediately, his voice starts to shake, “I k-know. I know w-what’s wrong.” After a moment of hesitation, he adds, “It’s m-my fault. I’d f-fix my m-mistake, but I d-doubt he wants to t-talk to me.” 

“WHAT?” Pidge shrieks, “What did you do? Why would you say that? Whatever you did, I’m sure that Lance would forgive you, if you apologized.” Pidge gives him a few seconds to respond. When he fails to do so, Pidge whispers, “Keith?” 

“I’ve g-gotta go,” Keith says, and before Pidge can say more, he hangs up. After hanging up, he lets his his thumb hover over Lance’s contact picture. He should just read what Lance said, and get it over with. He REALLY, REALLY should just click… 

He clicks on Lance’s picture. 

Lance: Nyma is pretty but her personality sucks. I like you better.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for 120+ kudos!!

19   
‘Lance: Nyma is pretty but her personality sucks. I like you better.’ Keith has to read the sentence a couple of times. He has to read it a couple of times in order to convince himself that it is real… That he isn’t dreaming. Releasing a breath that he had not been aware that he was holding, he decides to respond to Lance. 

He is tempted to call him. After all, it would calm him and further prove that this is all real if he were able to hear Lance’s voice… Lance’s voice that can be high pitched and headache inducing when he is discussing memes with Pidge, but also steady and reassuring when Lance speaks to him… When Lance jokes with him. When he makes it obvious that he cares. 

Lance cares about him. Does Lance just care about him as a friend? Or, does he care about him as a potentially partner? Keith wants to know. Keith needs to know. Before he can chicken out, before he can turn his phone off or at the very lest put in on airplane mode, he responds to Lance. 

Keith: prove it 

To Keith’s surprise, facebook is quick to tell him that his message has been read. His message has been read, yet Lance doesn’t respond. He doesn’t respond, and the dots that signal that Lance is typing don’t appear. 

The lack of a response makes him more upset than receiving an answer… It makes him more upset than letting himself think about all the different answers Lance could give him. Some of his favorites, or rather the ones that choose to repeat themselves as a sinister chant in his head are, ‘I was just kidding’ and ‘I was dared to message you that.’ 

Exiting the facebook app, he moves on to Spotify. With his current situation reminding him of a low budget kdrama, he decides to listen to kpop. Selecting a group and song at random, he slips on his headphones. His headphones that completely cover his ears and are as dark as night.

Night. It would be great if it was night. If it was night, he could make another wish after counting the stars. Or, at the very least, he could hunt for constellations until his eyelids grew heavy… Until he fell asleep. 

“Keith,” his mother shouts from downstairs. With her voice sounding close to the front door, Keith assumes that she is saying goodbye before heading to work. “I’m going to work. Before I go, I’m letting your friend in. He says your forgot your science notebook in class yesterday and has brought it here for you.” 

With Keith not being a morning person, he is quick to get confused. Science notebook? He was sure that he put it in his bag. After all, a notebook is a pretty big and hard thing to miss. Too tired and too mad at Lance to care, he shrugs off his confusion. 

“Tell Pidge to come up here,” Keith hollers in response. Although he has sciene with both Pidge and Lance, he knows that Pidge is the one that is bringing him his notebook. For starters, Pidge is one of the most responsible members of their friend group. Second, with Lance not even bothering to talk to him digitally anymore, Keith doubts that he would come to his house. 

Keith doubts it. He doubts it, yet finds himself hoping…. 

His notebook… A bright red, spiral bound notebook with ‘Science’ hastily written on the cover, is thrown at his face before he can really see who threw it. Taking off his headphones so he can give the thrower his undivided attention, he is surprised to see Lance before him

Surprised but happy. 

“I don’t understand,” Keith whispers, his anger now morphing into frustration and in turn, sadness. Before he can say more… Before he can ask why Lance, who could have given him his notebook at school… Lance, who shouldn’t already know that he decided to stay home is in his house, Lance interrupts him. 

“No,” Lance corrects him. His voice is loud, but not harsh. “You don’t understand, Keith. I like you. If I didn’t like you, not even in the slightest, why would I have helped you find your way home, the first time we met? Why would have I talked to you at school? Why would I introduce you to my friends and my sister? Why would I write you notes in detention or take you out for milkshakes? You’re my friend. You’re friends with me, Hunk and Pidge whether you realize it or not. You’re my friend, but I want you to be more.”

“You don’t even know me,” Keith snarls. He doesn’t mean to snap. He doesn’t mean to push Lance away, yet he does. 

“You know what Keith, you’re right. I don’t,” Lance emits after emitting a heavy sigh. “I don’t know you, but that is the whole point of becoming friends with someone… And dating someone. You talk about yourself and then listen to the other person talk. Through that, you come to understand if you truly like like someone or just like someone.” 

“Aren’t you,” Keith responds. He mentally curses at himself as his voice starts to shake. “A-Aren’t you afraid t-that we w-wouldn’t be able to go b-back to being f-friends if it didn’t work out?”

“I may have many fears,” Lance says, “with spiders being my main fear, but I’ve never been afraid of losing our friendship. After all, I dated Hunk for a short while and it didn’t work out. Despite that, we’re still friends.” 

“You did what?” Keith exclaims. “When? You know what, I don’t want to know.” Taking a deep breath in order to calm himself down, he adds, “Are you sure you want to date me?”

“Oh I’m not sure,” Lance responds with a shit eating grin, “I’m REALLY REALLY sure.” 

Keith has never felt so relieved in his entire life.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this fic. Also, thanks to those who entered the raffle! Feel free to point out any typos, since I edited this in a hurry.

20/Last

A couple of months later, Keith grows adjusted. He grows ue to the routine of walking to school with Lance, attending class, and allowing Lance to walk him home. He grows use to getting ice cream with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge every Friday, after school. He grows use to talking to them just about anything and everything… From things as stupid as memes, to things as serious as the struggles of spending most of his life on the move. 

Of course there are a few things that he will never quite adjust to…. Things such as the Arizona heat that tries to melt him on a daily basis. Despite this, he has grown to love Arizona. Despite this, Keith has grown to love…

“Lance,” Keith whispers. The two, who had snuck out onto the roof of Keith’s house with the intent to stargaze, haven taken turns falling asleep. “You awake?” 

“Yeah,” Lance mumbles, with his eyes closed. To further prove how he is (barely) awake, Lance gives Keith’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“Can I tell you something?” Keith asks, squeezing Lance’s hand back. “It’s nothing bad… It’s just private. It’s private, but I want to share it with you.” 

This, by some miracle, wakes Lance up. With his eyes opening in a flash, he gives Keith a soft look. It is a look full of love. “I’d love to hear it.”

“My mother and I… My biological one, that is, use to count stars together. We’d count up to a number that meant something to us, and make a wish,” Keith says in a shaky voice. “We both use to wish for a lot of things… We or rather I use to wish for a lot of stupid things. Sometimes I would wish for miracles. Sometimes I wouldn’t wish at all.” After pausing in order to blink away tears, he continues. “I guess the point is…. The point is, one of my wishes came true because of you.” 

“Really?” Lance asks, sounding genuinely surprised and curious. “What was your wish? Wait, don’t tell me. I’ll guess. Did you wish to have the handsomest guy on the whole Earth as your boyfriend? Or perhaps you were wishing for the funniest…” As he speaks, he grins like a fool. “In all seriousness, you don’t have to share what your wish was. After all, it took a lot of guts for you to talk about your biological mom with me. You should tell me more about her someday. For now, I’ll stick to learning more about you.” 

Keith can’t help but laugh. Lance always seems to know when he could use to hear a joke. “I want to learn more about you too. I also want to learn Spanish. Oh and we should learn Korean together. I really hate that I can’t remember any Korean.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Lance chirps, “However, I must warn you, I plan on flirting with you in each of those languages. Do you think you can handle that?”

Now it is Keith’s turn to smirk. “It depends… Do you think you can handle it if I flirt back?”

“O-Of course,” Lance stammers. Clearing his throat, he adds, “We should probably go back inside before your mom finds us on the roof. I don’t want her to yell at us like last time. Her yelling is so loud that I thought my eardrums burst.” 

“Even though I hate that you changed the subject,” Keith responds, with an amused chuckle, you make a valid point. Let’s go back in. Once in, we should play twenty questions before going to sleep.”

“Considering how tired I am it will probably turn into five questions, but sure.” 

Keith lets Lance crawl through the window first. He does so because he wants to thank the stars or karma or whatever made his wish come true. “Thanks for the help,” he whispers, with his old wish echoing within his mind. _I wish that I knew someone that could make me feel like a star._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to yell at me on: 
> 
> wattpad: nikaravenscraft  
> tumblr: volleycatnika  
> twitter: akianra  
> ask.fm: akianra


End file.
